Tank Cycling - did my old sand screw this up?

Okay so as some of you may have read I put live sand in my tank before I looked into it (I know I know... I smacked myself around for it) and found that it kept raising my pH. My pH is around 7.9 out of the tap. I was told in a previous thread that that should be fine, that the fluctuations are what matters. I DID try a pH buffer for about a day until I read into it more and found out this particular one raised the phosphate level and apparently that would build algae so I stopped that and i'll just live with the 7.9.

Anyway my issue is the live sand not only raised the pH while it was in there, it also had stuff to "jump start" the cycling process.. which forgot about until I added the new normal sand, turned the filter on, waited 48 hours and tested the water... that's when I had these levels:

ph: 7.9
Ammonia: 0.25 - 0.5
Nitrate: 5 - 10
Nitrite: 0 - 0.25

So I decided that I'd just try and work with it. I waited 4 days and did another test. These were my levels today:

ph: 7.9
Ammonia: 0 - 0.25
Nitrate: 10 - 20
Nitrite: 2 - 5

I googled and the previous levels, combined with my new levels APPEAR to be part of a normal cycling process... just further along that I would normally be (please feel free to tell me if I'm wrong... there is some misinformation out there I know).

This is from the cycling guide:

After the aquarium has been running for the recommended time period, add a small amount of your ammonia source. (For example, use a piece of frozen brine shrimp that could cover a dime). After 24 hours, test the water and record the results. Monitor the water results every day or two. When the ammonia level begins to drop and the nitrite levels to rise, add another small piece of ammonia source to keep feeding the bacteria. Keep monitoring the water quality, and when the nitrates begin to rise again dose the tank with the ammonia source. This should be the last dose required to finish the cycle.

Click to expand...

So it says I should expect the ammonia to drop, and the nitrITE to rise, which they did. So I added my ammonia source (frozen brine shrimp) and now apparently I'm waiting for the nitrATES to rise. So does this mean while the ammonia is in there and rising, the other levels will drop and THEN rise again? Then I'll add more brine shrimp and the ammonia will rise, while the nitrITES and nitrATES drop, then they'll rise, then drop to 0 again the tank should be cycled??

My question... is this all screwed up? Does this seem normal? If it's normal is what I wrote about what I am to expect? If it's wrong what do you think I should do? Stop adding stuff and wait for it to crash back to 0?

The problem with "live sand" is that this is a product sold for saltwater aquariums. Yes, it has good bacteria in it, but they are the kind that live in saltwater. I'm not sure if they are of any use in freshwater - maybe, maybe not. The other problem is that live sand usually consists of crushed coral. In time, your pH is likely to be over 8.0 all the time. I don't know for sure what the effect of this will be on an axolotl, but I sure wouldn't do the experiment.

I'm not sure if I'm following your question exactly, but here is a nice graph showing what the levels of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate are supposed to do. It doesn't always work exactly as depicted, but this is the typical profile.
Beginner FAQ: The Nitrogen Cycle
When you say "stop adding stuff", what stuff are you referring to?

Jennewt said:

The problem with "live sand" is that this is a product sold for saltwater aquariums. Yes, it has good bacteria in it, but they are the kind that live in saltwater. I'm not sure if they are of any use in freshwater - maybe, maybe not. The other problem is that live sand usually consists of crushed coral. In time, your pH is likely to be over 8.0 all the time. I don't know for sure what the effect of this will be on an axolotl, but I sure wouldn't do the experiment.

I'm not sure if I'm following your question exactly, but here is a nice graph showing what the levels of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate are supposed to do. It doesn't always work exactly as depicted, but this is the typical profile.
Beginner FAQ: The Nitrogen Cycle
When you say "stop adding stuff", what stuff are you referring to?

Click to expand...

Sorry, my post was obviously too rambling. The live sand was removed after maybe day 2 when I noticed the high pH and googled reasons for it (hence the smacking myself around when i realised it was TOTALLY wrong and such a waste of money).

However the water directly from the tap/faucet is 7.9 pH. It has not fluctuated since the addition of the new sand so that's one plus.

The "stuff" is brine shrimp.

Thanks for the link! Based on the graph I think i'm around day 20. Does that sound right based on the readings I gave in the OP?

My main qn was, does this cycle info look wrong? and did the live sand stuff it up bad enough that I should LET it crash

live sand and made for saltwater aquariums. thsi isthe reason your pH is high on your fish tank. if you are planning to keep saltwater fish then that's fine but you need to lower nitrite and nitrate. let the tank cycle for a month to let the bacteria to do its job for the cycleing process
Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

I think talking about the live sand is cofnusing some people reading the question. From the information you gave I think your cycle is coming along fine and you can proceed normally!